On the value of water quality observations for karst model parameterization

If properly applied, karst hydrological models are a valuable tool for karst water resources management. If they are able to reproduce the relevant flow and storage processes of a karst system, they can be used for prediction of water resources availability when climate or land use are expected to change. A common challenge to apply karst simulation models is the limited availability of observations to identify their model parameters. In this study, we quantify the value of information added to parameter estimation when water quality data (NO3 and SO4) is used in addition to discharge observations to estimate the parameters of a process-based karst simulation model at a test site in Southern Spain. We use a three-step procedure (1) to confine an initial sample of 500,000 model parameter sets, (2) to identify alterations of individual model parameters through the confinement, and (3) to quantify the strength of the confinement for each of the model parameters. The last step allows us to quantify the information content of hydrodynamic and water quality observations for model parameter estimation. Our results show that NO3 provides most information to identify the model parameters controlling soil and epikarst dynamics, while discharge observations provide most information about the recharge area and the groundwater dynamics. SO4 mostly contributes to the identification of recharge processes. Looking at different flow states of the system, we also find that information provided by our observations varies over time.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

A Simulation Approach to Comparing Multiple Site Recreation Demand Models Using Chesapeake Bay Survey Data

To value water quality improvements in the Chesapeake Bay or elsewhere, it is necessary to choose an appropriate model of consumer behavior. A number of different travel cost based recreation demand models have been employed to value changes in water quality or beach access. Among the possible models to choose from are the typical trip model, the pooled observations approach, a varying parameter model, and a logit model. Each approach makes different assumptions about the structure of individual preferences and the choice process underlying individual decisions. The purpose of this paper is to implement a methodology that can be used to suggest a model (or models) appropriate for valuing quality improvements in the Chesapeake Bay. To compare these approaches, a series of outdoor recreation user populations is constructed by choosing a utility function, its parameter values and an error distribution. This information is combined with the characteristics of individuals and recreation sites from a Chesapeake Bay recreation demand survey to solve the individual's maximization problem. Each of the models is estimated using these data, and the compensating variation of a quality change is calculated. Benefit estimates are compared with simulated welfare change to evaluate the models.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A methodology for analysing and evaluating narratives in annual reports: a comprehensive descriptive profile and metrics for disclosure quality attributes

There is a consensus that the business reporting model needs to expand to serve the changing information needs of the market and provide the information required for enhanced corporate transparency and accountability. Worldwide, regulators view narrative disclosures as the key to achieving the desired step-change in the quality of corporate reporting. In recent years, accounting researchers have increasingly focused their efforts on investigating disclosure and it is now recognised that there is an urgent need to develop disclosure metrics to facilitate research into voluntary disclosure and quality [Core, J. E. (2001). A review of the empirical disclosure literature. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 31(3), 441–456]. This paper responds to this call and contributes in two principal ways. First, the paper introduces to the academic literature a comprehensive four-dimensional framework for the holistic content analysis of accounting narratives and presents a computer-assisted methodology for implementing this framework. This procedure provides a rich descriptive profile of a company's narrative disclosures based on the coding of topic and three type attributes. Second, the paper explores the complex concept of quality, and the problematic nature of quality measurement. It makes a preliminary attempt to identify some of the attributes of quality (such as relative amount of disclosure and topic spread), suggests observable proxies for these and offers a tentative summary measure of disclosure quality

Empirical Analysis of Agricultural Productivity: Growth in Benin and Mainly Factors which Influence Growth

This study examined changes in agricultural productivity at Benin in the context of diverse institutional arrangements using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA).A time series data which consists of information on agricultural production and means of production were obtained from World Research Institute database, INSAE and rainfall data from AMMA database. The information was for a 43-year period (1961-2003); DEA method was used to measure Malquist index of total factor productivity to evaluate technical change efficiency and technological efficiency change across the country’s 12 provinces. A decomposition of TFP measures revealed whether the performance of factors productivity is due to technological change or technical efficiency change over the reference period. The study further examined the effect of land quality, agriculture labor, and selected governance indicators such as government effectiveness and openness on productivity growth. All the variables included in the model are significant effect on the TPF and the country agriculture growth. They equally performed well in terms of expected relationship with TFP except land quality index which unexpectedly had an inverse relationship with TFP.Data Envelopment Analysis, Efficiency, Productivity, Benin, Agribusiness, N57, C01, C23,

Accredited qualifications for capacity development in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation

Increasingly practitioners and policy makers working across the globe are recognising the importance of bringing together disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. From studies across 15 Pacific island nations, a key barrier to improving national resilience to disaster risks and climate change impacts has been identified as a lack of capacity and expertise resulting from the absence of sustainable accredited and quality assured formal training programmes in the disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation sectors. In the 2016 UNISDR Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, it was raised that most of the training material available are not reviewed either through a peer-to-peer mechanism or by the scientific community and are, thus, not following quality assurance standards. In response to these identified barriers, this paper focuses on a call for accredited formal qualifications for capacity development identified in the 2015 United Nations landmark agreements in DRR and CCA and uses the Pacific Islands Region of where this is now being implemented with the launch of the Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Professionals, for DRR and CCA. A key issue is providing an accreditation and quality assurance mechanism that is shared across boundaries. This paper argues that by using the United Nations landmark agreements of 2015, support for a regionally accredited capacity development that ensures all countries can produce, access and effectively use scientific information for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. The newly launched Pacific Regional Federation of Resilience Professionals who work in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation may offer a model that can be used more widely

Business process and practice alignment meta-model

Business Process Modelling (BPM) is one of the most important phases of information system design. Business Process meta-models allow capturing informational and behavioural aspects of business processes. Unfortunately, standard business process meta-modelling approaches, such as the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) Meta-model, Quality-Oriented Business Process Meta-Model (QOBPM) and Transactional Meta-Model for Business Process (TMBP) focus just on process description, providing different business process models. According to these meta-modelling approaches, it is not possible to compare and identify related daily practices in order to improve business process models. This lack of information recognizes that further research in Business Process (BP) meta-model is needed to reflect the evolution/change on software processes. Considering this limitation in BP meta-modelling, this paper presents a comparative study of the most recognized business process meta-models approaches and introduces a new BP meta-model designed by Business Process and Practice Alignment Meta-model (BPPAMeta-model). Our intention is to present observed problems in existing approaches and propose a business process meta-model that addresses features related to the alignment between daily work practices and business process descriptions. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

INFORMATION QUALITY DIMENSIONS: TWO EXPLORATORY CASE STUDIES WITH ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM USERS

Using two explorative case studies we theorize in this paper about information quality as one variable of the IS success model explaining user satisfaction. We derive four dimensions of information quality which have a diverse and unique impact on user satisfaction: information characteristics, information access and security, information format, and task-information fit. Moreover, we identify contextual factors such as the pace of information change and update, legal and compliance requirements, and employees’ skills which determine the importance of each dimensions for explaining user satisfaction. This more nuanced view of information quality as one component of the IS success model enables a better guidance of organizations in improving information quality to increase user satisfaction. There-fore, several organizational interventions are discussed that can be used to improve information quali-ty by focusing on each of the four unique information quality dimensions separately